The line of rivets along the bottom of the side
tanks shows this view was taken after the water capacity was increased from 600
to 780 gallons.

The Victorian Government authorised the
construction of a number of 2' 6" narrow-gauge railways to facilitate the
development of areas which could not justify the high capital cost of 5'
3" gauge railway construction, with the first such line opened in 1899
between Wangaratta and Whitfield. To operate this line, two 2-6-2T
locomotives were ordered from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, entering
traffic in 1898 and assisting with the Whitfield line's construction.
These handsome tank locomotives were designated the Narrow Gauge A-class
(NA class), carrying nameplates 1A and 2A. Interestingly, 2A was
supplied with Vauclain compound cylinders; this system had some popularity
at the time. The NA-class appear to have been based on a standard
Baldwin design of the period, with similar locomotives supplied to various
railways around the world; examples of similar machines include the New
Zealand Railways Wb-class 2-6-2T locomotives and four examples of a 0-6-0T
version for the Mt Lyell railway in Tasmania, both for 3' 6" gauge.

Three further 2' 6" gauge developmental
railways were subsequently opened, Upper Fern Tree Gully to Gembrook in
the Dandenong Ranges in 1900, Colac to Beech Forest in 1902 and the Moe to
Walhalla line in 1910. To operate these routes the Victorian Railways
built 15 further NA-class locomotives at Newport Workshops, with 3A
completed in 1900 (using some spare parts previously supplied by Baldwin)
and the last, 17A completed in 1916. (4A was also built as a
Vauclain compound; the Webmaster speculates this may be because Newport
Workshops had a set of Vauclain cylinders originally supplied as spares
for 2A.) The NA-class locomotives had sole operation of the
Victorian Railways narrow-gauge lines until the arrival of Beyer Garratts
G41 and G42 in 1926, precipitating the
withdrawal of 1A and 2A in 1929. Class numbers continued to thin
with the gradual reduction in traffic and ultimate closure of the
narrow-gauge lines.

3A entered traffic at Fern Tree Gully in April
1900 having been the second locomotive built at Newport
Workshops (the first being Z 256). 3A
also saw service on the Colac-Beech Forest-Crowes line as well as the Moe-Walhalla
line. Photographic evidence shows that it received enlarged side tanks at some
stage (increasing water capacity from 600 to 780 gallons) together with a raised
rear coal bunker. It was based at Fern Tree Gully in 1955 when the Puffing Billy Preservation
Society came into being, but failed soon after its last trip between Fern Tree
Gully and Belgrave. 3A's official record card shows that it was withdrawn from service on 28
November 1955 having completed 337,106 miles. It then shows "Broken up 29
November 1955", overwritten "Off Register" again overwritten "held at Newport
Workshops for historical purposes" again overwritten "sent to Portsea 15
November 1955". 3A was in fact been sent to Portsea where it was plinthed
in a park until obtained by the Puffing Billy Preservation Society on 4 October
1977.

3A was dismantled for assessment by the
Puffing Billy Preservation Society following its arrival at Menzies Creek
in 1977. Unfortunately the boiler was found to be in poor condition
and was placed on display at the Menzies Creek Museum. For many
years the frames, cylinders and wheels were stored at Emerald until
transferred around 2000 to the long-term storage shed at Gembrook. The
condition of the remaining parts is a significant issue, with the frame
and motion being original wrought iron of Baldwin manufacture and
considered worn out.

Various proposals for the restoration of 3A
have been made over the years. The recent direction is to restore 3A
as a static exhibit using original parts as they become available, to the
original design including wooden cow catchers and original smoke box.
Given that a new boiler is required, together with new side tanks, cab &
bunker, the restoration of 3A would be very expensive however the Puffing
Billy Railway Society has previously built new boilers and all platework
for other members of the preserved NA fleet and thus the restoration of 3A
is technically feasible. Perhaps the real issue is that the
resulting locomotive would effectively be a new locomotive - 18A maybe!
- and thus the historic fabric of 3A should indeed be preserved as a
static exhibit.

As an interesting aside, a
2-4-2T cousin of the NA-class Baldwin locomotives is currently being constructed
as a "new build" project in the UK, in the form of the Lynton & Barnstaple
Railway locomotive "Lyn". Due to the similarities of these Baldwin locomotives,
the Puffing Billy Railway Society has been able to offer some technical support
to this project.

A view of 3A recently arrived at Menzies Creek in
1977 after its years plinthed at Portsea.

It carries the garish paint scheme typical of many
plinthed locomotives.

This photo
was kindly provided by Andrew Fairweather.

A view of 3A in operation on the Gembrook line.

Comparison with the earlier photograph above shows
that the bunker has been raised.

This photo
was kindly provided by Andrew Fairweather.

For comparison & interest, here is a scanned view of a Baldwin locomotive of
similar vintage and with Vauclain compound-steam cylinders.

This is Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway No.5 as I found her
in 1994 displayed at
the bottom station of this Colorado cog railway.

The high and low pressure cylinders can clearly be
seen driving a common crosshead, with the valve nestled behind the cylinders.

References

a

"Steam
Locomotives of the Victorian Railways, Volume 1: The First Fifty Years" by
Norman Cave, John Buckland & David Beardsell.

Published in
2002 by the Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division),
Melbourne.